Acer’s 7.9-inch A1-830 tablet is now available in Australia, RRP $249

Acer‘s on a roll today – not content with launching the C720 Chromebook in Australia, they’ve also announced local availability for their new 7.9-inch tablet, the affably-named A1-830. The tablet will be sold at major retailers starting right now, priced at $249.

The A1-830 has a 7.9-inch 1024 x 768 IPS display with 178-degree viewing angles. It’s a 4:3 display, too – we haven’t seen many Android tablets with a 4:3 aspect ratio, so this should be interesting to put through its paces (we’ve got a review unit coming). The device features an aluminium rear cover and a metal frame to give the device a rigid build. Despite this, it all weighs in at 372 grams.

It’s powered by an Intel Clover Trail Atom Z2560 CPU clocked at 1.6GHz and has 1GB RAM on board. There’s 16GB internal storage and a MicroSD slot to accomodate up to an additional 32GB. Acer hasn’t specified the battery capacity, but says it’s good for 7.5 hours. There’s a 720p front camera, and a 1080p rear.

Disappointingly, it’s running the now-very-outdated Android 4.2.1 out of the box. We’d like to know when Acer plans to update the device to a more modern version of Android.

Acer’s also continuing its “Crunch” line of accessories, offering a keyboard and a cover for the A1-830. There’s also a case and screen protector. Prices and availability for these accessories are currently unknown, but we’ll update the post when we have them.

Jason Murray Deputy Editor

Before discovering the Nexus One, Jason thought he didn't need a smartphone. Now he can't bear to be without his Android phone. Jason hails from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane depending on his mood and how detailed a history you'd like. A web developer by day with an interest in consumer gadgets and electronics, he also enjoys reading comics and has a worryingly large collection of Transformers figures. He'd like to think he's a gamer, but his Wii has been in a box since he moved to Sydney, and his PlayStation Vita collection is quite lacking. Most mornings you'll find him tilting at various windmills on Twitter - follow @JM77 and say hi!